Editas surges 50% as ARK founder Cathie Wood sees genomic stocks driving returns for the next 5 years
- Editas Medicine soared as much as 50% on Monday to record highs amid recently commentary from ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood saying genomic stocks will drive returns for her investment portfolios over the next five years.
- In an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, Wood said her and her team believes "the next FANG [stocks] are in the genomic age," adding that healthcare is the largest sector exposure in ARK's flagship disruptive innovation ETF.
- Editas Medicine is the 11th-largest holding in the ARK Innovation ETF, and CRISPR Therapeutics is the second largest, according to data from ARK Invest.
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Shares of Editas Medicine, a genome editing company that utilizes CRISPR technology, soared as much as 50% to new all-time highs on Monday. There was no official news from the company to explain the move higher.
The move does follow a Friday interview conducted by Bloomberg with ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood, who explained that she sees genomic stocks driving the bulk of the gains for her flagship fund over the next five years.
"The biggest upside surprises are going to come from the genomic space, and that's because the convergence of DNA sequencing, artificial intelligence, and gene therapies are going to cure disease," Wood said.
Wood, who is the portfolio manager of ARK's flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), has made healthcare the biggest sector exposure for the portfolio, even eclipsing technology.
"We actually think the next 'FANG' [stocks] are in the genomic age," Wood said.
The potential for genomic stocks could be massive, according to Wood, who foresees a combination of artificial intelligence and gene editing allowing scientists to anticipate and cure diseases like sickle cell disease and diabetes.
Wood has put her money where her mouth is. Behind Tesla, the third largest holding in the ARKK ETF is CRISPR Therapeutics, a gene editing company that makes up 5.7% of the fund.
Other genomic stocks within the portfolio include Invitae Corporation, Editas Medicines, and Intellia Therapeutics, which make up 4.9%, 2.7%, and 2.2% of the fund, respectively.
Shares of ARKK surged as much as 4% on Monday, while Crispr Therapeutics surged 19%, Invitae Corporation jumped 6%, and Intellia Therapeutics gained 24%.
